Pseudomonic acid--a new antibiotic for skin infections

A preliminary trial is reported studying the effectiveness of pseudomonic acid in primary superficial skin infections in 20 patients. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in 18 patients and beta-haemolytic streptococci group A in two. Only on one occasion was a pathogenic organism, Staph. aureus, isolated post-treatment and clinical cure or improvement was achieved in 19/20 (95%) of patients. All isolates were found to have pseudomonic acid MICs of between 0.06 and 0.25 mg/l.